Technical Difficaulties
by ArcherEdgeBond
Summary: A unexplained mishap on the tardis leads the doctor to meet an old friend (Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to doctor who this is purely the work of fiction and all rights go to the respective creators)
1. Chapter 1

On the furthest reaches of the universe a strange blue box with markings that depict Police...the tardis drifting gracefully in perpetual bliss when all of a sudden the silence of the universe is broken with the sound of a guitar rift. Inside the box resides a large control panel on a landing on a second level an elderly looking man sitting comfortably in a wing chair playing with his guitar adjacent to rows of books and a chalk board. the doctor then paused and began to re tune his instrument when the tardis suddenly, without warning, let out a loud whirring sound. the lights flickered the doctor sat up with a confused expression on his face he placed the guitar down and rushed down the stairs to the console frantically trying to figure out what was happening. the tardis began to to move and fly at high speed through time and space heading towards it final destination as if it was being called... to earth. the ship appeared at is destination with a whirl and boom, then there was silence. the doctor grabbed the nearest monitor to discover that he had landed in United Kingdom; Cardiff to be exact.

The doctor looked toward the console with a stern grin and said " out of all of time and space why have you brought me to Cardiff... Cardiff of all places." the tardis then let out a whir the doctor responded "that's not an answer there has to be a reason as to why you have brought me here." at that moment there was a sudden knocking at the door the doctor hesitantly started for the door wondering who or what it could be. he opened the door slowly and came face to face with a young man with black hair well dressed and wearing a blueish Grey trench coat. the man smiled and said " hello doctor its been a long time, you seem to have aged a bit." the doctor seemed quite confused and responded " who are you?" the man was shocked and replied with a fairly serious tone " Captain Jack harkness" the doctor having a very serious look on his face retreated back into the tardis to continue working on the tardis controls jack followed in toe staring contently at the doctor with quizzical eyes.

The doctor periodically looking up at jack, the doctor was about to speak when the doors to the tardis slam shut, the engine began to whir and took off from earth and headed for the edge of the galaxy. Jack clung to the guard rail which circled the the console as he shouted " Doctor! what is happening!" for which the doctor replied " I'm not sure shes been acting strange" the tardis suddenly came to a complete stop and the console went dark. as the ship lay adrift in space the lights in the tardis began to flicker, the doctor unable to comprehend what is happening turns to jack raises his hand points and says "why did you call the tardis to Cardiff?" jack having an somewhat agitated look on his face replied "Yeah and how would I do that" the doctor preparing to respond notices a small creature sitting on top of the railing on the second level, the doctor then signaled jack in the direction of the creature, jack turned an drew his gun from inside his coat in a sign of defense. having now witnessed this creature, this strange creature that had large ears green skin, sharp claws and stood 1 1/2 ft in height. jack having kept his gun on this creature began to query the doctor "what on earth is that thing doctor?" the doctor staring intently at the creature reaches for his sonic screwdriver and began to scan the lifeform.

The screwdriver buzzed and glowed a warm blue light, an alert beeped and the docter inspected the screwdriver it indicated the creatures identity. the doctor with concern in his voice declared "My sonic is identifying this thing as a... gremlin?" Jack then turned to the doctor confused and repeated "A Gremlin ... you must be kidding."  
jack then added "I thought gremlins were just folklore?" the doctor then replied "yes I know but the question is... how did one get on the tardis?" the creature then stood up and began to move, it scurried towards the doctors guitar passed right by and came down towards the console. the doctor stood firmly in place with great caution turning slowly while always keeping an eye on the approaching creature. Jack keeping his gun ever vigilant and only waiting for the doctors word. the creature then climbed onto the console to look the doctor in the eye, as if proud of its accomplishment.

The doctor stood his ground and glared with great disdain. the gremlin then tilted its head to one side and spoke in a gargled tone "Do...oc..t...or." the gremlin then pushed a button on the console which caused the lights in the tardis to flicker for an instant, in which the gremlin then disappeared. jack, having holstered his gun, began to search the room for the gremlin, as the doctor checked the tardis controls for anything out of the ordinary, but to no avail. Jack turned to face the doctor only to be greeted with a face of utter defeat. With a flick of his wrist the controls twitched, turned, and made a whirring sound. with a thunderous noise which mimicked a grandfather clock striking 12, the tardis had now reached a new destination. the doctor head held low turned and headed toward the stairs. jack looking at the doctor with disbelief that this man had been defeated, turned to look at the door then back at the doctor whom just sat in his wing chair and rested his head in his hand. jack asked the doctor " where are we doctor?" the doctor said in a fairly low voice "we are on earth in cardiff roughly at the exact time we left." he then raised his hand and snapped his fingers for which the doors flung open. the doctor picked up his guitar slumped in his chair and began to play a soft but sad tune.

Jack feeling sorry for his friend turned and headed towards the door, but suddenly stopped. jack turned to look at the doctor one more time and with a heavy heart said " ya know sometimes not knowing something makes the journey even better." he turned towards the door. the doctor stopped playing and said " Who told you that?" jack stopped and then said " no one told me...an old friend taught me that." he then left with a smile and a friendly wave, and the tardis doors closed. The doctor paused for a moment and thought about what he said and smiled. the tardis continued to flow through time and space wandering aimlessly with the faint sound of a soft song, as if remembering a time long since past.


	2. Chapter 2

The doctor continued on playing a soft song on his guitar as he sat in his wing chair thinking about what Jack had said. He looked over at the controls as he contemplated his current course. In the distance he heard something drop onto the ground as it echoed through the tardis. The doctor froze and slowly placed his guitar on a nearby stand. He waited for another sound to identify if something was there. From the the other side of the room, the sound of footsteps caught his ears. The sound came from a different side of the room, the doctor rose from his chair slowly and began to head down the stairs. The doctor placed a hand on the control panel as he began to say aloud "I'm The Doctor and I will not stand for these idiotic tricks." after a few seconds of silence a small voice echoed from the distance repeating "D….oc...t..or." The doctor looked around as he began to push controls on a pad, as he headed around the console for the switch he heard a noise from behind him. The doctor turned to see the creature standing on the lower stepps of the tardis. The gremlin smiled a mischievous grin as its ears twitched. The doctor curious about this creature and how it got on the tardis, began to ask "Tell me how you got on the tardis." the doctor moved the switch as the tardis began to whir and hum. the gremlin smiled, as the lights began to flicker once more till it again vanished.

Jack stood next to the monolith above the rift looking up at the sky when the tardis reappeared in the same spot where it landed before. He stood confused as to why the doctor came back and began heading towards the tardis. The doors quickly flung open as the doctor stormed out heading for Jack. His eyes indicating that he was indeed frustrated with the creature, he grabbed Jack by the arm and with a stern sounding tone he said "Get in the tardis, we don't have much time just get in." As he raised his right hand and pointed toward the tardis Jack calmly removed the doctors hand with a brief shrug as he looked at the doctor and understood the situation. He grabbed his bag which layed on the ground and slung it over his shoulder.

Jack smiled softly as if the doctor had said something amusing, he turned and said in a chipper tone in a hope to lighten the mood a little "Lets get a move on then" the two entered the tardis slowly as Jack dropped his gear by the by the entrance. The two reached the console as Jack drew his gun and headed for the stairs leading to the lower levels. The doctor inspected the console when the doors slammed shut, and the tardis began to flash and whir. Jack returned to the console and exclaimed "Whats going on doctor?" The doctor moved around the tardis as to find the problem. Jack Added to his initial question "Is it that gremlin thing?" The doctor looked up and said "No, But the tardis knows that its on board and is trying to get rid of it."

Jack froze in place as the tardis calmed down he looked up at a nearby screen to examine where they had landed. Jack looked at the screen and hesitantly said "Doctor your not gonna like this." The doctor move to stand next to Jack as he moved the screen to the doctor's view. The screen indicated a planet in a distant solar system, the doctor froze and and became quite afraid as he looked at Jack to confirm the location. the doctor screamed at the tardis "Skaro!" He hit the console with his fist and added "Why Skaro?" the tardis made a small whir sound as if answering his question. The doctor looked at Jack and the two quickly began to pick a different destination. The doctor ran around the console pushing buttons and turning levers, like a madman who cant find his keys. Jack Began listing locations in a state of panic "Akhaten, Telos, Mondas…." The doctor quickly pressing buttons said "No, No, No." the doctor looked to a nearby screen and assured himself the that the daleks have not seen them yet. Jack continued to look at more locations and listed "Adipose 3,Limus 4, Raxacoricofallapatorius" The doctor looked up at Jack with a somewhat unamused look and said "Don't start that again." Jack looked at one location and said "How about Clom" The doctor rather agitated said "No one goes to clom, who goes there?" After a few hasty seconds Jack selected a location and the tardis took off whining and humming. The doctor looked at the screen and then to Jack and asked "where did we end up" Jack flung the screen around, the doctor raised his right hand to catch the monitor as it swung around the console Jack said aloud "Trenzalore?" The doctor flipped the switch and said "Can't certainly go there."

Jack continued to push buttons when he moved to where the doctor was and asked "What does it matter where we go that thing is still on the tardis mucking about." The doctor continued to push buttons when he added "It's more where I really want to dump the little cretin off." Jack raised one eyebrow and with a slight chuckle "And Skaro was not good enough?" The doctor looked up and with a hint of a smile he said "I can't just drop him off where he will get killed." Jack leaned against a nearby rail crossing his arms, he let out a light sigh and said "You're still trying to be the saviour doctor." The doctor ignored the comment as the tardis came to a stop with a loud boom that echoed through the room. Jack moved to the monitor and the screen displayed a planet by the Monicor 'The fifth planet' Jack looked up and asked "Why Here?" The doctor let out a smile and replied "We needed somewhere isolated" Jack took a step forward as the doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and the two headed down a long corridor in search of the creature.

The two remained side by side checking all around them as they ventured deeper into the tardis. Jack reached for his gun and safely lowered incase the creature were to suddenly strike. The doctor continued to scan around with his sonic when Jack said "So why is it you didn't remember me right away." the doctor turned to face Jack and said "I had just regenerated, this is a new cycle so memory is a little foggy." Jack froze and thought for a second at what the doctor had just said be he could tell that he was being honest in his statement, and curiously asked "So which incarnation is this?" the doctor looked at Jack and said "um…. This would be my twelfth." Jack and the doctor continued down a long corridor until they reached a room with a plaque just next to the right side of the door. The sign was old and read 'library of Gallifrey' the door was slightly open as the two ventured in. The room was two levels with endless shelves and stacks of books, it was possible that the entire recorded history of the known universe was kept there. Jack moved off to the left side between the stacks looking for any sign of the beast while the doctor scanned high and low on the right side. Jack walked slowly ever cautious with his gun, he kept a firm grasp of the weapon as he scanned. The doctor turned the next corner toward the end which led to a small reading nook.

The doctor noticed an area that looked to be covered in a small bit of residue which he further inspected. He discovered what appeared to be a shell of some kind somewhat nestled behind a stack of books. The find began to raise further questions as to how it got on board. The doctor began scanning the shell with his sonic when in the distance he heard the sound of a gun firing. He quickly rushed into the direction of where the shot had fired. The doctor rushed through the stacks shouting "Jack!" as he made several attempts to find his friend, he knew that his friend would be fine but still had to know. The sound of more gun shots echoed throughout the corridor. The doctor looked around till he stopped to find several small books entitled the 'Doctor's companions' he placed a hand briefly remembering those he had lost in his past lives. He Inhaled and re asserted himself to finding Jack. Turning around a couple bends he found Jack firing his gun down the corridor towards the door. The doctor slowly walked to his side noticing a few cuts on Jack's coat, he calmly said "Jack did you find him."

Jack looked at the doctor with a fair bit of surprise and said "He jumped me from behind the stacks and headed out of the room." The doctor became rather frustrated turned to the door and said "how did this thing get in here?" Jack looked at the doctor and added "You once said that it is impossible for anything to get through the doors." The doctor shifted his position and with slight raising of his brow he murmured "That's true." Jack moved to a nearby seat and began to reload his weapon. "I remember when a beam passed through the shields and we ended up on satellite 5 where the daleks were waiting."

The doctor looked at his friend with a somewhat interested look on his face and added " Satellite 5?" Jack looked up at the doctor and said "Ya remember the daleks, Rose, How I became Immortal." The doctor suddenly sprang in his step and said "Yes Yes I remember, But I also remember that the fact that those daleks were only half dalek." Jack slid a new magazine into his gun and added "So how does this help us catch this gremlin" The doctor smiled raising his hand he added "It gives me an idea on how to locate it faster." Jack grew ever more curious at the statement knew deep down that the doctor always has a plan. The doctor circled for a few minutes when he sharply turned to Jack and with a serious and somewhat uplifted tone

"But I am gonna need your vortex manipulator."


End file.
